From: Pradeep Gatram <pradeep.gatram@...>
Date: 2007-11-26T21:54:14+09:00
Subject: Re: how to ensure signature compliance while mocking in ruby

Hi James,

Sorry for vanishing for a couple of weeks. I have been using ur 
suggested approach of 'responds_like'. Although its a good start, it 
still does not give me complete confidence. All it tells me is whether 
the method is present or not. It does not guarantee signature 
compliance. For e.g., referring back to my example...

class Bar
  def method2 param1
  end
end

The above implementation of method2 in Bar will cause FooTest to pass 
even with responds_like. But the 2 parameter signature is clearly not 
supported.

I agree, an integration test should and will catch this scenario and 
will fail. But its not possible to write integration tests for every 
scenario. After all, the expected method call could happen under a 
convoluted condition. A classic case where, I believe, the unit tests 
should be able to give me complete guarantee of the state of code.

So there does appear to be a need for stricter checking. Leaving the 
default behaviour as is, maybe introduce a new method like 
mocked_object.strictly_expects(:blah)...

That leads me to another aspect? How about validating the return types 
:D. Java/C# again gave me that additional safety net of knowing that the 
return types were correct while I was mocking (at least thats what I 
remember).

Pradeep
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